1. Thor II, The creation of MOOC machine to provide quality e-Learning media.
(Desktop Studio)
Dr.Wuttipong Pongsuwan
Shinnawatra University, Bangkok, Thailand.
wuttipong.p@siu.ac.th
Abstract
This research demonstrate the design and creation of systems for the
development of teaching and learning online. The development of Thor II
provides integration of hardware and software that can create quality online
media. Instructor can use this affordable machine to create quality media on
their own desk from home or institution. The new era of Desktop Studio will
combines the use of media with hardware and software. A trial over the
teaching institution with streaming between Campus 40 kilometers apart via
high speed internet. This research will show the Relationship between digital
media/social innovation and technological innovation in the creation of smart
communities and smart campus.
I. Introduction
The idea behind this research is the requirements of using economically desktop PC to create e-
Learning media studio. Thus a production system may cost at least 9,000 $ or 3xx,xxx in Thai
baht for just one video input. So we decided to implement the affordable desktop studio
ourselves. Within affordable budget, Then one with the system that cost below 3,000 $ or less.
The price of this desktop studio will just a little bit higher than traditional super PC in the
consumer market.

2. II. Literature Review
Multimedia communications is a new way to convey information and knowledge to the students
(1). For hundreds of year, people using paper based learning via books and written by hand and
changed from hand to printing machines. The evolution of e-Learning changes almost every
paradigms of learning from traditional learning into social learning (2) (e.g., Lifelong education
concept, informal education).
The development of e-learning still has many problems, such as, the limitation of ability in
learning management system (LMS) in order to manage learner’s contents or evaluation system
is not standard. There are some problems in the terms of learning material or contents, which is a
very important. If learning materials are not attractive to learner, it will impact to the
effectiveness of learning because learner does not want to learn (3).
Online environment provides a powerful platform to conduct experiments, exploring how
students learn and how faculty can best teach using a variety of novel tools and techniques (4).
Fundamental questions include: What motivates students to learn and persist? What helps
students retain knowledge? What are the best ways to teach complex ideas? How can we assess
what students have learned? And what is best taught in person vs. online?
Mary Lynne Davis showed in A Comparison of Traditional and Online Instruction in an
Introduction to Special Education Course that, there is evidence that distance education using
video conferencing or off-campus classes is effective with “no significant difference” (5)
Sue Byrd Steinweg, also showed the same result in A Comparison of Traditional and Online
Instruction in an Introduction to Special Education Course (6).
The results of Mary and Sue showed that learning online has no significant difference but create
online learning are more flexible for learners. Learners can repeat his courses as he wishes. But
cost of production effective and interesting courses require more money for better machine to
create better media.
III. E-Learning
E-Learning (7), in comparison with traditional learning, significantly reduces the time needed to
locate information. It also offers access to online resources, databases, periodicals, journals and
other material you wouldn't normally have access to from a library. If a student has trouble
understanding part of the coursework, finding tips on the matter couldn't be easier than having
immediate access to supplementary, unlimited and mostly free material online!

3. E-learning is here to stay. As computer ownership grows across the globe e-learning becomes
increasingly viable and accessible. Internet connection speeds are increasing, and with that,
opportunities for more multimedia training methods arise. With the immense improvement of
mobile networks in the past few years and the increase in telecommuting, taking all the awesome
features of e-learning on the road is a reality with smartphones and other portable devices.
Technologies such as social media are also transforming education constantly.
LMS stands for Learning Management System and it's a global term for a computer system
specifically developed for managing online courses, distributing course materials and allowing
collaboration between students and teachers. A LMS will allow you to manage every aspect of a
course, from the registration of students to the storing of test results, as well as allowing you to
accept assignments digitally and keep in touch with your students. In essence, the LMS is the
backbone of most e-learning activities. LMSs are built on various platforms, commonly PHP,
.Net or Java and they will hook up to a database such as PostgresSQL, MySQL or SQL Server.
There are many LMSs out there, both commercial and open source.
Social and collaborative learning Collaborative learning is an e-learning approach where students
are able to socially interact with other students, as well as instructors. In essence, learners work
together in order to expand their knowledge of a particular subject or skill. In e-learning
environments, this is typically done through live chats, message boards, or instant messaging.
Collaborative learning is based upon the principle that students can enrich their learning
experiences by interacting with others and benefiting from one another's strengths. In
collaborative learning situations, students are responsible for one another's actions and tasks
which encourages teamwork as well.
IV. DesktopStudio
Desktop studio is a system that can be used as one machine to do all the studio works. Virtual
set, chroma key, CG (Character Generator), and transitions affect. The following features must
be supported:
(1) Support multiple inputs:
Video Cameras - 4K, HD and SD capable. Support for DeckLink, Intensity Pro, Webcams and more.
Video Files - Support for all popular formats including AVI, MP4, H264, MPEG-2, WMV and QuickTime
DVDs - With menu navigation
Audio Files - MP3 and WAV
Audio Devices - Mix multiple audio sources such as SoundCards and DeckLink Audio
Video and Audio PlayLists - Combine multiple video and/or audio files into a single Input

4. RTSP, PowerPoint, Photos, Flash, RTMP, Solid Color and more.
(2) Simultaneous Streaming, Recording, and Output
Live stream to your favourite streaming providers including UStream, YouTube.
Live Record in full HD to AVI, MP4, MPEG-2 or WMV
Output via DeckLink capable cards to professional recording decks and monitors
Virtual Capture support for streaming to 3rd party software such as Skype, Google Hangout and
VLC
(3) Transition Effects
Cut, Fade, Zoom, Wipe, Slide, Fly, CrossZoom, FlyRotate, Cube, CubeZoom, Vertical Wipe,
Vertical Slide and Merge transitions available with 4 customisable transition buttons for easy
access to your favourite effects.
(4) HD Virtual Sets with high quality real-time Chroma Key
4 Built In Virtual Sets - Or build your own
Full Motion Zoom - Customizable camera position presets
High Quality Chroma Key - Use with or without virtual sets to suit your production needs
(5) Multi View
Combine multiple inputs together using the different "Multi View" presets or customize the
position of each element with the available Zoom, Pan, Rotate and Crop controls.
(6) Overlay Channels
Should support at least 4 Overlay Channels in addition to the Multi View feature. Each overlay
channel can have its own transition effect, position and border.
V. The Designand Implementation of Thor II
Hardware design: the design of Thor II used Intel i7, ASUS mainboard with 16GB
memory and 2 TB hard disk storage. With 2 Decklink(9) mini recorder capture cards to provide 2
video input (SDI and HDMI) (camera or powerpoint presentation from another computer with

5. HDMI output. Camera with SDI or HDMI output is necessary. A blue or green curtain is
optional for Chroma key feature.
Figure 1 Decklink mini recorder
Drivers: To install decklink card you must have at least 2 PCI slots. Software driver must
be the latest version.
Software: Mixer software: vMix software from Studio Coast (8)
Operating System: Windows8 64 bits version.
Figure 2 Thor II Desktop Studio
Broadcasting technology
RTMP protocol to Ustream.
Produce to Youtube.com

6. Figure 3 Broadcasting through internet via rtmp protocol
Thor II for production solution
After the installation of software and hardware, Thor II machine will look like this:
Figure 4 Thor II machine with digital capture cards and ready to start.
Thor II for broadcasting solution
We also implement a broadcasting channel at:

7. www.youtube.com/wuttipongpongsuwan the protocol RTMP (Real Time Massaging Protocol)
which provide streaming capacity from Thor II to www.youtube.com. After streaming, youtube
will store all media data into youtube’s archive. This will last forever. On the other hand, if you
donot want to use youtube, you may select opensource name “Open Broadcaster Software”
which are freed to download at https://obsproject.com/
Figure 5 www.youtube.com/wuttipongpongsuwan
Figure 6 Creator’s studio in youtube.com channel
VI. Integrating with edX for e-Learning with good production
edX is an advanced opensource software (10). edX founded by Harvard University and MIT in
2012, edX is an online learning destination and MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) (11)
provider, offering high-quality courses from the world’s best universities and institutions to
learners everywhere.
With more than 85 global partners, edX were used in the world’s leading universities, nonprofits,
and institutions as our members. EdX university members top the QS World University
Rankings® with edX’s founders receiving the top honors, and edX partner institutions ranking
highly on the full list.

8. In our system, we used open edX(12) to implement MOOC for SIU (under construction). Almost
all of the server-side code in Open edX is in Python, with Django as the web application
framework, using Mako templates.
The browser-side code is written primarily in JavaScript. Some of the code is written
in CoffeeScript, and edX is working to replace that code with JavaScript. Parts of the client-side
code use the Backbone.js framework, and edX is moving more of the codebase to use that
framework.
Open EdX uses Sass and the Bourbon framework for CSS code.
Figure 7 Example of MITx MOOCs from MIT

9. Figure 8 Open edX architecture
VII. Problems and Troubles Shooting
In the beginning, the implementation of ThorII faced the resolution problems. The output of
video from camera and decklink card may not compatible. Checking resolution and refresh rate
are very important because it’s not auto detect.
The configuration of edX virtual machine is very difficult, you must follow the instruction
directly, don’t skip any detail and you must have at least 16 MB of memory and java latest
version.
Thor II will be used as input production equipment to improve digital video contents of MOOCs.
The real production processes must be implemented, not over expectation.
VIII. Conclusion and Recommendation
This experiment create a production machine which allow one man can do the whole studio jobs.
Like in 1980’s, the creation of DTP (Desktop publishing) and WYSIWYG changed the way
people look at printshop in to desktop publishing and never return from digital printing to analog
again. The DTS (Desktop Studio) will change the way of people to change his look at the studio
into one man studio on his desktop. The integration of this machine and software will be
automatic machine in the future.

10. References:
[1] Prasad A. Naik, Kalyan Raman (2003) Understanding the Impact of Synergy in Multimedia
Communications. Journal of Marketing Research: November 2003, Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 375-388.
[2] Sims Jr., Henry P.; Lorenzi, Peter, The new leadership paradigm: Social learning and
cognition in organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc The new leadership
paradigm: Social learning and cognition in organizations. (1992). 322 pp.
(http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1992-97067-000)
[3] Thongchai Kaewkiriya, A design and development of e-learning content for multimedia
technology using multimedia game, International Journal of Software Engineering &
Applications (IJSEA), Vol.4, No.6, November 2013.
(http://airccse.org/journal/ijsea/papers/4613ijsea06.pdf)
[4] https://www .edx.org/about/research-pedagogy
[5] Davis, M. L., Locklear, C. D., Stapleton, J., & Williams, S. C. (2008). Do University Center
Distance Education Programs produce Comparable Teacher Education Candidates? Proceedings
of the E-Learn 2008 World Conference on E-Learning (November, 2008).
[6] Sue Byrd Steinweg, A Comparison of Traditional and Online Instruction in an Introduction to
Special Education Course, Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher
Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children Winter 2005 vol. 28 no. 1 62-73
[7] © Epignosis LLC. All rights reserved. Epignosis LLC 315 Montgomery Street, 8th and 9th
Floors San Francisco, California, CA 94104 USA, e-learning concepts, Trends , Applications, V
1.1 – January 2014, http://www.talentlms.com/elearning/elearning-101-jan2014-v1.1.pdf
[8] www.vmix.com
[9] https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/decklink
[10] https://www.edx.org/about-us
[11] http://mooc.org/
[12] https://open.edx.org/